Etusivu » Assets and liabilities

The property that a person has when he or she marries, will remain his or hers during the marriage. The same applies to the property that a person acquires in his own name during the marriage. However, the spouse has a matrimonial right to the other spouse’s property, which means that if the marriage is dissolved by divorce or death of one spouse, the property is divided equally between both spouses, or in case of death of one spouse, to the surviving spouse and heirs. An exception to this general rule can be made through prenuptial agreement.

During the marriage, the spouse, to whose assets of the other spouse has a matrimonial right to, cannot without the consent of the other spouse, assign rights to real property, which is intended for use as the home of the couple. Spouse is also not allowed to assign rights or transfer shares, right to lease, or other rights, which entitle to manage apartments, which are intended for use as a home the couple shared without the other spouse’s consent to assign or transfer these shares. The same applies to personal property, which belongs to the real property that both spouses jointly use for accommodation, the other spouse’s tools necessary for their profession as well as personal property, which is intended for the other spouse´s or a child’s personal use.

Each spouse is solely responsible for the debt which he or she has acquired before or during the marriage. Debt, which one spouse has acquired to support the family, however, is the responsibility of both of the spouses on their own or on each other’s behalf. Debt which both spouses have acquired during the marriage is the responsibility of both of them and each other on behalf of each other, unless otherwise agreed upon.